Fabric guide for sewing machines



y H. HACKLANDER ET AL FABRIC GUIDE FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Dec. 10, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l S Y. O Ll 1 W D n 3 ii/m Gttorncgs.

July 11, 1933. H. HACKLANDER ET AL 1,917,711

FABRIC GUIDE FOR SEWING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 10, 1951 Patented July 11, 1933 UNl'l'Ell STATES PATENT oFFicE HANS HACKLAIIDEPJ, OF TINLEY PAR-K, AND FREDERICK 1i. ZEIER, OF CHICAGO,

ILLINOIS, ASSIGNGP ILLINOIS, A QGRPOEATI-SN ILLINOIS TO UNION SPECIAL MACHIIEE COlliPANY, OF CHICAGO,

FABRIC GUIDE FOR SEVIING MACHINES Application filed December 10, 1831. Serial No. 580,196.

The invention relates to new and useful improvements in a fabric guide for directing the fabric being stitched to the sewing mechanism, and more particularly to the means for supporting the fabric guide.

An object of the invention is to, provide a fabric guide supporting means which is so constructed that the guide may be shifted at will of the operator to and from operative position by the aid of a member movable with the guide and independently of the movements of the guide, which member when pressed in either direction releases the locking latch for holding the guide in a set position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a latch holding means which positively holds the guide in a set position and which is automatically operated to engage and hold the latch in the position to which it is shifted prior to the releasing of the member which in turn releases the latch.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a holding means for the guide wherein the holding latch is converted from a positive holding means to a yieldable holding means so as to permit the guide to be forcibly shifted.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a fabric guide supporting means for guiding and directing fabric sections to feed cups, with means for supporting said guide which permits the guide to be raised and lowered, shifted laterally, and toward and from the stitching point by a supporting means consisting of comparatively few parts.

These and other objects will in part be obvious and will in part be hereinafter more fully disclosed.

in the drawings which show by way of illustration one embodiment of the invention- Figure 1 is a view showing a portion of a cup feed machine with the improved guide supporting means used thereon;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the guide and its supporting means, and showing its relation to one of the feed cups;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View on the line 3-8 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the supportin and holding means showing the guide as reieased and swung to the first set inoperative position;

Fig. 5 is view similar to Fig. l, but showing the guide as swung'to its full set inoperative position, and showing in dotted lines the movement of the arm for converting the positive holding means into a yieldable h0lding means;

' Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing a portion of the supporting means and showing the holding means for locking the guide in intimate set position;

Fig. 7 is a similarview showing the converting means as shifted for placing the positive holding means in a position so that it will forcibly yield to permit the shifting of the guide, and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of the end of the holding latch.

'lhe invention is directed to a guide for directing fabric sections to a stitching mechanism, and more particularly the supporting means therefor. The guide as illustrated is used in connection with a cup feed machine where the fabric sections are supported in vertical planes as they pass to the stitching mechanism. The purpose of the guide is to direct and uncurl the edges of the fabric secticand the guide is particularly useful in the seeming of stockings. In certain portions of the stitching, it is desirable to dispense with the use of the guide while the stitching continues, and therefore, the guide is supported so that it may be swung from operative position to an inoperative position. The guide is pivoted to a bracket, which bracket includes means for permitting the shifting of the guide in a direction at right angles to the plane of the fabric sections. it also includes means whereby the guide may be positively raised and lowered, and means whereby the guide may be bodily shifted toward and from the stitching point. By these adjustments the guide may be properly set relative to the stitching point. The guide is pivoted to its supporting bracket, and is held in its set positions by a yielding latch which cooperates with notches formed in the supporting shank of the guide for positively holding the guide in set positions. Mounted on the guide is an arm which has a limited swinging movement, and a cam controlled thereby which converts the positive holding means into a yieldable holding means so that the guide may be forcibly shifted by the aid of the arm from one set position to another in either direction.

The invention will be better understood by a detail description of the present illustrated embodiment thereof. In the drawings, a portion of a cup feed machine is shown wherein the feed wheels are indicated at 1 and. 2, respectively. The feed wheel 1 is mounted on a shaft which in turn is mounted in a supporting bearing 3 carried by the main casing 4 of the machine. The feed wheel 2 is likewise carried by a shaft mounted in a supporting bearing 5 carried by the casing 4. The particular type of machine illustrated is shown and described in the application filed by Norman V. Christensen, July 9, 1931, Serial N 0. 549,787.

Located in front of the feed cups 1 and 2 is a fabric guide which includes a supporting shank portion 6 carrying a central guiding plate 7 alongside of which the fabric sections are directed. There is an uncurler 8 pivoted at 9 to the shank and yieldingly pressed by a spring 10 against the outer face of one of the fabric sections. There is an uncurler 11 pivoted at 12 and yieldingly pressed by a spring 13 against the outer face of the other fabric section. The uncurler is of the usual character and further description thereof is not thought necessary. The fabric guide is mounted on a supporting bracket which includes a plate 14 (see Fig. 3) which is attached to the main casing by means of a bolt 15 which passes through a slot in the plate 14. This slot is horizontal and is elongated so that when the bolt is loosened, the plate may be shifted laterally. Mounted on this plate 14 is a right angle plate 16. Said right angle plate 16 is secured to the plate 14 by a screw 17 which passes through an elongated vertical slot 18 in the angle plate 16. The plate 14 is provided with a threaded integral sleeve 19 and an adjusting bolt 20 engaging said sleeve carries a collar 21- spaced from the head of the bolt, and in this space between the collar and the head of the bolt is a projecting lug 22 carried by the angle plate. \Vhen the screw 17 is released and the adjusting bolt 20 turned, it will positively raise and lower the angle plate 16, and then the screw 17 may be tightened for securing said plate in its adjusted position.

Attached to this angle plate 16 is a support 23 to which the fabric guide is pivotally attached. Said guide is attached to the support by a. pivot bolt 24. This support 23 is provided with a laterally projecting portion 25 V and a clam )ing screw 26 is passed throimh the angle plate 16 and threaded into this laterally projecting portion 25. The slot through which this screw 26 passes is horizontally elongated. There is a horizontal rib and groove connection between the part 25 and the angle plate 16. There is also a vertical rib and groove connection between the angle plate 16 and the plate 14. This provides a means whereby the guide may be raised and lowered positively after it is released, then secured in the desired set position. It may also be moved toward and from the stitching point by releasing the screw 26 and it may be shifted laterally of the plane of the fabrics by releasing the screw 15. There is likewise a horizontal rib and groove connection between the plate 14 and the main casing.

The shank 6 of the fabric guide is provided wit-h three spaced notches 2T, 28 and 29. Cooperating with these notches for holding the guide in set positions alatch 30 which is in the form of a bolt. The latch 30 has the faces 31, 31 thereof inclined so as to conform to the inclination of the side walls 32, 32 of the notch. These faces 31, 31 of the latch incline toward each other and are connected at the lower end by the curved portion hen this holding latch is seated in a notch, the inclination of the faces and the side walls of the notches are such that it is a positive lock and firmly holds the guide from any possible shifting from its set position. The latch is mounted in a sleeve 34 which is preferably formed integral with the support 23 for the fabric guide. Located in the sleeve is a spring 36 which bears 011 the latch and yieldingly forces the same in a downward direction into the notch. A stop pin 37 carried by the latch extends through a slot in the side wall of the sleeve and would limit the movements of the latch in the sleeve if the guide is removed.

Mounted on the pivot bolt which attaches the guide to the support 23 is an arm 38. This arm 38 is mounted so as to move for a limited distance independently of the movements of the fabric guide. At one edge of the shank carrying the arm 38 is a segmental recess 39 and a pin 40 attached to the shank 6 of the fabric guide lies in this segmental recess and limits the swinging movement of the arm on the guide by engagement with the ends of the segmental recess. The shank supporting the arm 38 is provided with a projecting portion 4-1 and also a projecting portion 42. The cam face 43 lies directly below the latch 30 when the guide secured in normal operative position. The pin 40 limits the downward movement of the arm 38. When the operator takes hold of the arm 38 and pulls on the same it moves the arm in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2, the cam face 43 will engage the latch and force it to a certain extent out of the notch 27 The parts are then positioned as shown in full lines in Fig. 4. The latch is still projecting a suflicient distance into the notch so as to maintain the guide in its normal operative position, but a further pressure applied in a counterclockwise direction to the arm 38 will forcibly release the latch and permit the guide to be swung to the broken line position. Then the guide approaches the position shown in the broken lines in Fig. 4, the latch will be yieldingly forced into the notch 28. The latch moving into the notch 28 will slide down the cam face 44 and will position the arm 38 with the pin intermediate the ends of the segmental recess 39. This is the position of the parts as shown in Fig. 6.

The shank carrying the arm 38 is provided with a second projection 42 having cam faces 46 and 47. If the arm is pressed to a further extent in a counter-clockwise direction, the cam face 46 will engage the latch and lift it from its positive lock of the guide to aposition where it will yieldably hold the guide. The continued movement of the arm 38 will cause the guide to be moved sothat the latch 30 will engage the notch 29. In Fig. 6 of the drawings, the latch is shown as fully seated in a notch and positively holding the guide in a set position. In Fig. 7, the latch is shown as yieldably holding the guide in a set position so that the further movement of the arm will forcibly release the guide from the latch, the latch operating as a spring detent. This enables the operator to release the latch from its positive hold and shift the guide by the same arm, and also insure that the latch will drop into the next notch and secure the guide in its shifted position. In other words, the arm converts the latch from a positively holding latch to a yieldably holding latch. The cain faces 43 and 46 are operative on the latch when the arm 38 is swung in a counter-clockwise direction, and the cam faces 44 and 47 are operative on the latch when the arm 38 is swung in a clockwise direction.

From the above it will be apparent that a holding means has been provided for the guide in the form of a yielding latch, which latch is released by a swing of the arm actuating the control cam in a direction in which the guide is to be moved. There is a stop for limiting the movement of the arm and the control cam is so shaped that when the guide is swung to a new set position, it will be automatically secured by the latch before the control arm is released. This insures a positive locking of the guide in a set position without requiring any particular attention from the operator during the shifting of the guide, other than a pull or push on the arm in the direction in which it is desired to shift the guide. When the control cam is shifted, it

converts the latch from a positive locking means to a yieldable holding means so that continued pressure in a direction for the shifting of the arm causes the latch to yield and the guide to move to its new set position,

where the latch, as noted, automatically ongages the guide for holding the same until the control cam is again shifted in one direction or the other.

It is obvious that minor changes in the details of construction and the arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention,what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of a fabric guide for directing fabric sections to a stitching mechanism, means for supporting said guide whereby it may be moved to and from operative position, a latch for holding said guide in operative and in inoperative positions, and means movable with the guide and independently thereof for releasing the latch and for moving the guide when operated in either direction.

2. The combination of a fabric guide for directing fabric sections to a stitching mechanism, means for supporting said guide whereby it may be moved to and from operative position, a latch for holding said guide in operative and in inoperative positions, and means movable with the guide and independently thereof for releasing the latch and for moving the guide when operated in either direction, said latch being yieldingly moved into engagement with the guide, and said releasing means being constructed so that when the guide is moved to a new set position it will be automatically secured by the latch in said set position.

3. The combination of a fabric guide for directing fabric sections to a stitching mechanism, means for supporting said guide where by it may be moved to different set positions, a yieldingly mounted latch adapted to engage notches in the guide for positively holding the guide in set position, an arm mounted on the guide and having a limited swinging movement independently of the guide, and means controlled by said arm for releasing the latch when the arm is moved in a direction for shifting the guide either toward or from operative position.

4. The combination of a fabric guide for directing fabric sections to a stitching mechanism, means for supporting said guide whereby it may be moved to different set positions, a yieldingly mounted latch adapted to engage notches in the guide for positively holding the guide in set position, and an arm mounted on the guide and having a limited swinging movement independently of the guide, said arm having cam controlled faces for engaging and retracting the latch when the arm is moved in either direction, said control faces being disposed so as to permit the latch to be yieldingly forced into a notch for automatically securing the guide in its newly set position.

5. The combination of a fabric guide for directing a fabric section to a stitching mechanism, means for supporting said guide whereby it may be moved from operative to inoperative position, a yieldingly mounted latch adapted to engage notches in the guide for positively holding said guide in set positions, an arm mounted to swing on the same pivot as the guide, and a stop for limiting the movement of the arm relative to the guide, said arm having a shank provided with cam faces adapted to engage the latch and release the same from the notches to permit the shifting of the guide'from one set position to another.

6. The combination of a fabric guide for directing a fabric section to a stitching mechanism, means for supporting said guide whereby it may be moved from operative to inoperative position, a yieldingly mounted latch adapted to engage notches in the guide for positively holding said guide in set positions, an arm mounted to swing on the same pivot as the guide, and a stop for limiting the movement of the arm relative to the guide, said armhaving a shank provided with cam faces adapted to engage the latch and release the same from the notches to permit the shifting of the guide from one set position to another, said cam faces being so disposed as to permit automatic engagement of the latch with the notch when a new set position is reached.

7. The combination of a fabric guide for directing fabric sections to the feed wheels of a cup feed machine, a support on which said guide is mounted, an angle plate to which said support is attached for adjustment of the guides to and from the stitching point, a plate adapted to be attached to the frame of the machine and on which said angle plate is mounted for vertical adjustment, a clamping means for attaching said angle plate to the plate attached to the frame, a shifting bolt'for positively raising and lowering the Made plate when itis released for raising and lowering the guide, and. means for attaching said plate carrying the angle plate to the frame so that the guide may be shifted in a direction transverse of the line of feed.

In testimony whereof, we aiiix our signatures.

HAN S HACKLANDER.

FREDERICK F. ZEIER. 

